Anthony Francis Steedman (21 August 1927 – 4 February 2001) was an English character actor, perhaps best known for roles in British TV drama series of the 1970s and 1980s, and for his role as

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

in '' Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure''.

Career

In addition to film work, his theatre appearances were extensive, including Ray Cooney's comedy ''

Her Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Monarchs and their consorts are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of address, spoken or written, it takes ...

'' in the West End of London, and he appeared in numerous television productions, including episodes of ''The Feathered Serpent'', ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'', '' The Professionals'', '' Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'', ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based ...

'', '' The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes'', ''

The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

'', ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Televi ...

'', ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective ...

'', '' Minder'' and ''

Barry Morse Herbert Morse (10 June 19182 February 2008), known professionally as Barry Morse, was a British-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio, best known for his roles in the ABC television series '' The Fugitive'' and the British sci-fi drama ' ...

presents Strange But True''. He had a recurring role in the British soap opera Crossroads as Dr. Butterworth. He was also a regular in the final two series of BBC sitcom ''

Citizen Smith ''Citizen Smith'' is a British television sitcom written by John Sullivan, first broadcast from 1977 to 1980. It starred Robert Lindsay as Walter Henry "Wolfie" Smith, a young Marxist "urban guerrilla" in Tooting, south London, who is attempt ...

'' (1979–80). He holds the distinction of portraying Nazi Gen. Alfred Jodl twice, first in '' The Death of Adolf Hitler'' (1973) and later in '' The Bunker'' (1981). Following his role in ''Bill and Ted'', he voiced the character of

Justin Hammer Justin Hammer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a villainous entrepreneur, head of Hammer Industries and a frequent adversary of the superhero Iron Man. As he expl ...

in the first season of ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

''.

Partial filmography

* '' War & Peace'' (1972-1973) - Marshal Davout * '' Gawain and the Green Knight'' (1973) - Fortinbras * '' The Abdication'' (1974) - Carranza * '' Golden Rendezvous'' (1977) - Assassin (uncredited) * '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) - Admiral * '' The Bunker'' (TV) (1981) - Gen. Alfred Jodl * '' The Missionary'' (1982) - Lord Quimby * '' Ascendancy'' (1982) - Colonel * '' The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood'' (TV) (1984) * ''

My Two Dads ''My Two Dads'' is an American sitcom television series that was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions in association with Tri-Star Television (later Columbia Pictures Television) and distributed by TeleVentures. It starred Paul Reiser, Greg ...

'' (TV series) (1987) - School Director * '' Scrooged'' (1988) - Bobby - the Headwaiter * '' Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' (1989) - Socrates * ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty W ...

'' (TV) (1989) - Jasper DeKimmel * '' Delirious'' (1991) - Edward - the Butler * ''

Split Second Split Second may refer to: Film and television * Split Second (1953 film), ''Split Second'' (1953 film), an American film noir * Split Second (1992 film), ''Split Second'' (1992 film), a British science fiction film * Split Second (game show), ''S ...

'' (1992) - Pat O'Donnell * ''

Mrs Dalloway ''Mrs. Dalloway'' is a novel by Virginia Woolf, published on 14 May 1925, that details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a fictional upper-class woman in post-First World War England. It is one of Woolf's best-known novels. The workin ...

'' (1997) - Prime Minister

Personal life

Steedman met his first wife, Ann Taylor, in 1957 during a production of ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tells ...

'' and they were married in November of that year in

Brackley Brackley is a market town and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, bordering Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from Oxford and from Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the in ...

. They had one daughter, and divorced in 1963. Steedman's second wife was actress Judy Parfitt, whom he met in 1960 at the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

Rep. They were married in 1963 and jointly ran Allerway Limited, an artistic creation company. They had one son together. Steedman died on 4 February 2001 and was buried in East London Cemetery, Plaistow, London.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Steedman, Tony 1927 births 2001 deaths English male television actors English male film actors